Learning to Tame Your Monkey Mind | The Simplicity of Mindfulness

Week four at the Energie EnCorps200h Ashtanga yoga teacher training, we are all in for another treat. We had a special guest, Bhaskar Goswami to educate us on meditation. He is a certified teacher of traditional hatha yoga and a specialist in employing the principles of yoga for the modern lifestyle. Before embarking on my yearlong journey, I only meditated for a few minutes before yoga classes with the teacher leading the class. I never really knew the true power of the practice until that weekend.

Bhaskar Goswami

For those of you who don’t meditate or don’t do it often, the goal is to be in the present moment focusing on the breath. When I first started meditating, my mind was going in a lot of different directions. I was thinking about anything and everything but being conscious of my breath. The most common things that would pop in my mind are things I had do to for the week or recent things that happened to me.

The whole idea of focusing on the breath during meditation is because the breath is an action you can only make in the present. Therefore to be fully in the present moment, come back to your breath. When I first started practising yoga and was being introduced to the mechanics of breath, it all just clicked. Notice how the body, breath and mind are all connected. If you are feeling anxious or performing a task that requires a lot of physical activity, be aware of your breath. The breath leads the mind and concentration is a precursor to meditation.

I wish I knew all this when I was still a student. Being a John Molson Business School graduate in Marketing, I had to do a lot of presentations. My first semester, I would get very nervous and my heart would start beating really fast. My presentations ended up being alright in the end but if I could control my breath, my body and mind would have been under control and I would have performed better.

The most important lesson I learned from Bhaskar is the true power of meditation. Since our minds are not used to focusing on the present moment, it is going to be tough training it to start meditating at first. That is what was happening with me. But as someone meditates often, they start getting rid of what is and what was and gets to know themselves much better. Also when life happens, people who meditate often don’t get hung up on these occurrences. Just let it do its dance and let it go.

I would like to again end my article with a thought. Bhaskar mentioned the quote “Where attention goes, energy flows and where the energy goes, it grows”.

Interested in learning more about taming your monkey mind? Meditating takes practice and patience as well as a good teacher. Bhaskar’s Simplicity of Mindfulness Series can help you achieve your meditative goal. A 10 week series, starting beginning of October. For more info: https://goo.gl/gMwE4d or call Energie EnCorps at (514)505-9642

Written by Julie Kelechian, Energie EnCorps Yoga Teacher Trainee. Julie is currently enrolled in the Energie EnCorps 200h Ashtanga YTT, a Yoga Alliance recognized program. To learn more about the Ashtanga Yoga Teacher Training at Energie EnCorps in the West Island, visit: http://www.energieencorps.com/yoga_teacher_trainings/

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